The most important aspect of skating skill in ice hockey is the ability to rapidly “get up to speed,” i.e., achieve the fastest possible speed in the shortest possible time from a starting position. An ice hockey player needs to be up to full skating speed within only a relatively small number of steps, about three to five at the most. Skaters in other sports, such as figure or speed skating, or roller hockey, also need this ability.
Because skating speed is determined largely by leg strength (and, to a lesser extent, overall skating technique), resistance exercises (e.g., weight training) are a suitable approach to improving skating speed. However, as in most sports other than weight lifting itself, weight training cannot completely substitute for exercising the actual skating motion itself, nor can it provide adequate practice of the other aspects of skating form (such as arm motion, balance, and the ability to control and shift weight from one leg to the other). Similarly, simply adding additional weight to skaters, especially young skaters, may counterproductive and inefficient in the overall development of skating speed and skill.